Missions
by Xochiquetzal
Summary: Marluxia and Larxene complete their missions, much to Xemnas' dissatisfaction. For a 100-themes challenge. Marluxia and Larxene, coupled in later chapters. Some questionable content and lost of mentions of homosexuality. In Progress.
1. Mission 001: Introduction

**Mission 001 - Introduction - The World That Never Was**

I had just finished sorting box number six when there was a polite tapping at the door. Rather than have Marluxia face the terrible state of my room, I quickly picked through the junk to open the door.  
"Larxene," He said, head bobbing a little with his greeting.  
"Hey," I replied. "'Sup?"  
I loved being away from home, finally. No more complex rituals of social etiquette, no more perfect diction and elocution lessons. Even if Marluxia still talked like some private school kid, or even a prince, I could finally be as loose with my language and behaviour as I liked.  
"I'm here to take you on your first mission,"  
"Mission? Sounds like a murder attempt,"  
White teeth flashed as Marluxia grinned.  
"Attempt? You say that like we'd ever fail,"  
I glared at Marluxia.  
"Don't kid around,"  
His smile barely faltered.  
"Oh, Xemnas doesn't usually send inexperienced members on that kind of mission just yet. They don't call me the Graceful Assassin for nothing, you know," He added at my disbelieving glance.  
"But it's killing!" I protested.  
Marluxia slipped in and shut the door behind him.  
"Larxene," He said slowly. "Let me explain. You don't have to believe all that bull about no emotions, but without a heart, morals no longer exist. You might think you feel angry or happy or any other emotion and that's fine, but you don't have the capacity for guilt any more. If nobody points it out, it won't even occur to you to feel bad about committing crimes. Soon, you'll be killing for pleasure. That's how it is for us."  
I shook my head.  
"That's not right. Yesterday, you told me never to change,"  
"Maybe that was too much to ask," Marluxia said, his tone softer. "Anyway, you won't need to worry about that for a while because this mission's not an assassination. Just an introduction to the Organisation and how things work around here,"  
He passed me two sheets of paper.  
"Mission outlines. Your first two missions are here. It's simple; mission number, world, members, specifications. See here?" He pointed out each section to me as he spoke, "TWTNW - that's short for The World That Never Was, because Mansex is lazy,"  
"Mansex?" I interrupted.  
"Just a nickname for Xemnas. Try anagramming his name one day. And no, I didn't find that out, before you ask. It was Xigbar."  
I chuckled, wondering what I'd got myself into. A previously all-male Organisation whose leader's name spelled out Mansex, and whose welcome committee (Marluxia) was clearly the gayest man in all of existence? This was going to be crazy.  
"You were at members," I pointed out.  
"Oh, yes. This mission is set for XI - me, and XII - you. Usually they're completed in pairs. Sometimes two groups compete against each other to keep things interesting. Got that?"  
"Yeah," I said. It was simple enough.  
"The time limit is at the bottom. It can range between anything from half an hour to two or three weeks. Finally, spec. Luckily, Mansex keeps these as short as possible so we get to mess around as much as we like on missions, provided that we ultimately complete the requirements."  
I looked at the short notes, written in tight, neat handwriting:  
_01: Explain all mission conduct and Organisation rules  
02: Introduce XII to all existing members  
03: Complete Mission 002_  
"Sounds easy enough. Do I really have to suffer all the other members all over again?"  
I'd already seen them fleetingly at my inauguration. They weren't nice.  
"I can't be bothered. The rules are simple enough, you can learn to break them as you go. As for the members, the ones you'll see again, you'll see again. The ones you won't, you don't need to at all. Although, here's a simple run-down, I to X. Freak, paedophile, gorilla, geezer, giant, midget, psychopath, dick, moron, Brit."  
"Fag," I added, for Marluxia.  
"Hm. Bitch."  
"I like it. Let's go."


	2. Mission 002: Love

**Mission 002 - Love - Traverse Town**

I kept the portal journey as fleeting as possible, and was relieved when Traverse Town finally peeled into view. Larxene was too, I noted.  
"You get used to it," I assured her gently, tentatively placing a hand on her shoulder. She jumped nearly a foot in the air, statc electricity leaping from her body to snap at my fingers.  
"Ah! Marluxia!"  
"It's okay, I was just as freaked out when I made my first world jump,"  
"It was horrible," She said, shuddering. "Their _eyes_,"  
"Funny," I murmured. "I was always so much more worried about their claws ripping my face apart,"  
"That's because you're a narcissistic idiot, I bet," Larxene replied, grinning as she straightened up to her full height, just reaching my chest. I loved her insults. After several months of facing the vile sterility of the World that Never Was, I was glad to be reminded that some people out there still had a sense of humour, after all.  
"Not the face, not the face," I intoned dully. Larxene cracked up with laughter.  
"Okay, now I _know_ you're a narcissistic idiot. Faggot."  
I laughed as well, the first in a long time. It almost felt strange to my own ears.  
"Touché,"  
She slapped me on the shoulder and I felt another shock of static electricity pass between us. Curious.  
"Heartless," I said, changing the subject. "Now that we control the Darkness, they will heed our back and call, but there are some who can get out of control. You see, with Heartless, orders cannot be revoked. Kill."  
Larxene looked at me in confusion for a split second, but screamed when several Heartless launched out from the shadows behind me, immediately clawing at her clothes and skin.  
"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded.  
"Fight back."  
"I have no weapon! Get them off me!"  
"I'm sorry, Larxene. This isn't something I can explain,"  
I silently willed her to pick up the secret. The secret that had saved me from the Heartless Xigbar sent to attack me. And yes, admittedly, gave him stitches from laughter, too.  
There was a flash of lightning and something shot past me, clipping my hair. Larxene was retaliating with crackling electricity and tiny, soaring knives.  
She killed them all, and then some.  
"That was thorough," I commented lightly as I came over to help her up from the floor. She still sparked, making my fingertips tingle.  
"They were trying to eat me."  
"Still, no need to be so savage,"  
I paused, thinking as I looked at her with a critical eye. She was beautiful, there was no denying that, but savage.  
"The Savage Nymph," I said, suddenly. "That's it. That's you."  
She considered her proposed title for a moment.  
"I like it."  
I loved it. My little Savage Nymph.


	3. Mission 004: Dark

**Mission 004 - Dark - Halloween Town**

"Marluxia? ...Marluxia? Mar-Gyah!!"  
"Calm down, it's only me."  
Larxene carefully peeled the white, skeletal fingers away from her shoulder and, like a slow motion film, turned.  
"Aaah!"  
"It's me!" Marluxia's voice said from the deep recesses of the darkened cowl. "Our forms change in some worlds, to blend in better, and this is one of them. You haven't got a new form for Halloween Town yet, but we'll get to that later."  
Larxene peered carefully at Marluxia until she could make out more than just pinpricks of glowing blue eyes underneath the hood.  
"Oh." She said quietly. "You look really scary, no offence."  
Marluxia smiled, sharp white teeth flashing.  
"None taken. It makes a change from the norm, at any rate."  
They walked into the town square together.  
"So this is another heart collection round?"  
"No; this mission is for teaching you a few things. Limit breaks, for example."  
"Limit breaks?"  
"Yes. Sometimes, a Nobody has to be able to draw on their last reserves of power when they are fighting a losing battle. This is known as a limit break-"  
"- You sound like you're reciting a text book." Larxene interrupted.  
"I am."  
"Really?"  
"Nobody bothered to actually teach me anything when I first joined, so I had to steal some of Vexen's old journals and get everything I needed from them."  
"Which one's Vexen, again?"  
"Old geezer with the long blonde hair."  
"Oh, her. I get you."  
"Him." Marluxia laughed. "And I thought _I _was androgynous."  
"I'm very tempted to be surprised that you're male," Larxene deadpanned. It only made Marluxia laugh more.  
"I can prove you wrong, if you like."  
"Please, abstain. Let's get back to limit breaks."  
"Of course. Now, where was I..."


	4. Mission 005: Seeking Solace

**Mission 005 - Seeking Solace - Agrabah**

They fought.  
They battled the Heartless who were causing just too much trouble, slaughtered them until nothing was left but whispers of darkness fading into the sticky heat of Agrabah.  
They still danced in shadows in the barren desert sands, but now they were away from the hearts of the city, made weak by the ever present threat of the Heartless.  
Xemnas needed them to feel safe and strong for Kingdom Hearts.  
They sought solace atop one of the downtown towers, the cityscape peeling out before them, the golden turrets of the palace shining in the distance.  
Marluxia stretched, his bared back clicking. They'd both long since foregone the torture of wearing their thick Organisation coats in the stifling heat, Larxene opting for a loose silken shirt that she'd pilfered from some stall in the market square, Marluxia dismissing the idea of a top completely.  
"I hate this place," He said, after a moment's consideration. "It's beautiful, but so _hot_..."  
Larxene couldn't help but agree. She felt like butter under the heat of the sun, which seemed to pierce through even the sunscreen, cooking her like a joint of meat. Marluxia's back was reddening, but her complexion was paler still and she _burned_.  
She was glad of the respite from the battering hot as they slipped into the shade of an overhanging cloth canopy. Marluxia sighed, tentatively touching the hot skin on his back.  
"Ouch. That's going to sting."  
"I have some cream back home that'll help,"  
"Tempting, but we really ought to finish the mission first,"  
Larxene laughed, pulling out a full waterskin and gulping down a decent portion of its contents.  
"I'd offer to rub it onto your back but since you're so obviously gay, you probably don't want that,"  
Marluxia chose not to comment, simply taking a few sips from the waterskin before passing it back. Afterwards, it tasted slightly of roses.  
"We'd better get going."  
"There can't be that many Heartless left. We've been killing them all morning."  
"We've yet to cover the palace grounds, though. No doubt the strongest of Heartless will have pooled there,"  
Larxene growled.  
"As if the small fry weren't bad enough," She muttered. "Particularly in this heat. I feel like I'm melting,"  
Marluxia nodded morosely.  
"Black leather coats are all very well for keeping the Darkness at bay, but in worlds like these they're completely impractical."  
Larxene agreed as whole-heartedly as she could manage.  
"We've got until tonight. Let's just wait here for a while until the temperature cools off a little,"  
"Good idea," Marluxia replied, leaning back on one of the posts supporting the building they were sheltering under. "Ouch."  
"Did you forget to wear sunscreen or something?"  
"Ran out."  
Larxene winced comically, the closest she ever got to empathy these days.  
"Tough luck. Still, the lotion'll help,"  
Marluxia sighed.  
"Can't wait."


	5. Mission 006: Break Away

**Mission 006 - Break Away - Paradise Falls**

Next to the tumbling streak of water that poured serenely to the forest floor, there was a house.  
It was rickety, but gaudily painted, strangely void of furniture. It smelled slightly of old, boiled cabbages. About it, littered like wrapping paper, where hundreds upon hundreds of colourful, popped balloons.  
Two cloaked figures - one male and one female, but otherwise largely identical as far as attire was concerned - appeared at the scene.  
One of them - the man - knelt down and picked up a shred of balloon. It was attached, by a string, to the chimney.  
"Curious." He said.  
The woman sighed, strutting up to the old wooden structure. "It's fragile," She reported, closely inspecting the chipped paint on the crumbling rafters, the deep gouges on boards, the patterned sheet flapping loosely in the breeze, strung from a rusty shower pipe. "Lived in, but not for a while. This place is deserted."  
"I suspected as much," The man replied. "The plant life here is largely undisturbed. Not a likely characteristic for human civilisation,"  
"Explain the house, then. Xemnas will want an explanation," She bent down, running a finger along the splintering wooden framework that held the house up. "No foundations," He commented."The house wasn't built here. It was _moved_."  
"To this desolate outpost?"  
"Quite."  
They left the house where it stood. There was nothing more of interest here.


	6. Mission 007: Heaven

**Mission 007 - Heaven - The Place where the Lights Touch the Mountain**

The world was pretty useless - just a few superstitious tribesmen with hearts governed by imaginary spirits and beliefs, but _damn,_ it was beautiful.  
They'd caused a little trouble, of course - reconnaissance missions were so boring, after all - but it had just been a little show of smoke and mirrors to scare the locals. Overall, it constituted as a wasted day spent on a wasted mission in a wasted world. Except-  
Saїx had been in a murderously bad mood that morning, condemning all for the most minor of offences. His time of the month, Larxene had joked. But this mission wasn't supposed to be over until tomorrow at noon, and as boring as this world had proved to be, neither of them wanted to leave early to suffer VII's foul mood. The decision had yielded unexpected results.  
As night fell, the stars had been switched on like fairy lights, twinkling in the distance, behind the ever moving glow of...  
He didn't know what they were - presumably if Vexen were here, he'd provide a full scientific lecture of the origins of the phenomenon - but they were gorgeous, ethereal and heavenly. No wonder all the natives here believed in spirits and gods.  
Larxene, of course, didn't appreciate the nuances and symbolism of the lights. For her, they were pretty, a little weird, maybe, and that was it. But he saw ghosts of memories and emotions in their slow, dreamlike patterns, felt small reverberations of a time gone by as they swept, gently, across the sky. Every colour was a feeling and a spirit, every streak of gold or green or blue a wishful hope for something better, something _more_.  
He didn't bother to explain the beauty of the lights to his companion. He simply murmured "Yeah, they're pretty," and left it at that.


	7. Mission 016: Blood

**Mission 016 - Blood - Monstro**

If there was any world that could make the spine shiver and the skin crawl, this was it. Larxene had a very adept way of describing it: "Ew."  
All around us, muscles throbbed and pulsed, bulging out to make convex walls, sagging ceilings, overstuffed floor. Acid dripped around us, each droplet splashing to the ground with an ugly hiss.  
Everything was close, the air thick and humid with the stench of acid and half-digested food.  
"Let's make this quick," I muttered. It was uncomfortably hostile here; plants would never thrive in this environment and neither would I. Larxene couldn't help but agree. "For a deserted world, it's rife with Heartless," She commented as we walked - squelched - through the cavernous tunnel, shadows nipping at our heels. Past us scuttled the bloated bodies, twisted limbs, ghosts of the creatures of the Darkness. "My guess is that the species here had adapted to the acidic environment," I explained, running a gloved finger along the smooth, wet surface of the cavity. Veins the thickness of my wrist pumped to an even beat so deep that even we here in the intestines - or wherever we were - could feel each pulse vibrate up inside us from the floor.  
"A heart," Larxene said suddenly. "This thing has a pulse so it must have a heart - and a big one, too. The Heartless are drawn to it like a fish to water," She prodded one of the pulsating blood vessels. "Destroy the heart and the heartless will soon follow suit. Eew. Stomach juice. This place is disgusting,"


	8. Mission 023: Cat

**Mission 023 - Cat - Hollow Bastion**

"Why does Xemnas want _kittens_?"  
"Beats me. Perhaps he really is a faggot, after all," Larxene said as they walked together through Hollow Bastion. The sun was just beginning to set, casting a warm glow over the streets and houses. "Hey! I just found you a new boyfriend!"  
Marluxia grimaced, shaking his head. Pink hair swung this way and that with the movement.  
"Sorry, Larx, I just don't swing that way,"  
Larxene laughed.  
"More's the pity. You could have done him a few favours in return for better missions. I mean, kittens?!"  
"You have the munny, right?" Marluxia quickly asked. That was a mental image he really did not want in his mind.  
"Of course. Is this the right shop?"  
They went in. Cats and dogs howled from cages on the floor, birds hung limply from the ceiling. Bright, fluorescent strip lights cast everything insipid.  
The shopkeeper was expecting them. It was in utter silence that the transaction was made, twelve midnight black kittens with wide, blue eyes for a sizeable sum of munny.  
Make that twelve kittens, and one pink one.  
"You are so gay," Larxene muttered as Marluxia added the abomination of nature to the basket.  
"Oh, come on, he matches my hair,"  
"I refuse to carry that thing!" Larxene exclaimed. "It's an insult to my masculinity, and I don't even have any!"  
Marluxia sighed, lifting the little kitten into his arms.  
"Shmoll." He said. "Shmollie. Shmoll-Shmoll-Shmollie."  
"I don't know you." Larxene muttered, walking a little faster. "You oughtn't have dyed your hair pink. It's fried your brain and if somebody opened your head up all they'd find is pink glitter and sparkles,"  
Marluxia laughed, holding the newly-christened Shmollie in front of his face, letting him paw harmlessly at his nose.  
"He'd make the sweetest of Heartless. Maybe that's what Xemnas wanted the kittens for,"  
"Yes, but they'd be useless. Can you imagine a kitten annihilating a _fly_, let alone a Keyblader?"  
There was a click and both of them stopped instinctively.  
Larxene glanced at the kittens.  
"Mar?" She said, uncertainly. "Were their eyes always yellow?"  
Marluxia shook his head.  
"No, they were blue. I remember."  
One kitten launched itself at Larxene's face, yowling. She dropped the basket in surprise, tearing the stray animal away from her. The other kittens scattered.  
Larxene launched a flurry of kunai at her opponent, trapping it to the floor. It howled and fought against its restraints, helpless once again.  
Larxene lifted a hand to her cheek.  
"It made me bleed!" She exclaimed, irritated.  
Marluxia, standing a little shell shocked with Shmollie still lying limply in his arms, didn't even have time to shout a warning as eleven killer kittens flung themselves at Larxene, attacking tooth and claw and _surprisingly_ painful.  
The Graceful Assassin quickly popped Shmollie safely into the basket and dashed gallantly to Larxene's rescue.  
Kunai flew in all directions, but they seemed to simply bounce off the kittens, the electricity simply making them crackle with power. Marluxia was sure they were growing bigger, almost unfolding as they bristled, fur standing on end. He swung his scythe at a particularly tenacious kitten, and it made contact with a metallic clang.  
"These aren't cats!" He exclaimed as Larxene realised the same thing. "They must be robots, or something!"  
"How do we turn them off, then?!" Larxene screamed, giving up with her kunai and simply tearing at the kittens with her fingers, trying to pull them off. It was amazing how much life force they'd managed to deplete, already.  
One of them furiously fired a laser, very nearly singeing Marluxia's fringe. He retaliated, trapping it in a net of vines which it simply blew apart.  
"Goddamn kitten!" He yelled as it ran for his ankles once again.  
There was another click and it stopped and flopped onto its belly, purring.  
"...Keywords," Larxene said slowly as the previously killer-kittens tumbled harmlessly off her body. "They activate and deactivate the robotic programming."  
"I said kittens, and they changed back," Marluxia mused. "What did you say to turn them into murderous psychopaths?"  
"Keyblader?" Larxene said experimentally. Click. Howl.  
"Kitten! _Kitten!!_" They both screamed in unison as the creatures dived back at them, regardless of _extremely_ strange looks from poor, innocent passers-by. The kittens all simultaneously flopped again, one even enjoying a tummy-rub from a reckless bystander.  
"Okay. We don't mention that word again until the kittens are safely with Xemnas," Larxene said as the loaded the basket up with kittens. "What about Shmo-that thing?"  
"He didn't change. He must have different keywords to the others, or something,"  
"Oh Lord. Just don't let it be something really stupid, like, I don't know. Cute."

They just about managed to tear Shmollie away from Larxene... eventually.


	9. Mission 024: ORLY?

**Mission 024 - ORLY? - Tortuga**

"And so I says to him-" _-hic_- "I says... y_ou wanna piece of me?_ Geddit?"  
"Very funny." Marluxia intoned dully, nursing his own tankard of stale beer as Larxene polished hers off with great enthusiasm. They were finally enjoying a night of celebration after one _hell_ of a mission, chasing pirates and sailors alike over the seven seas for almost a month, and finally they had what they desired - a single, golden medallion that now hung loosely - and safely out of sight from thieves and robbers - around Marluxia's neck.  
"S'what about you?" Larxene, for all Marluxia could tell more-or-less lost to the world, asked suddenly.  
"I'm sorry?"  
"Another. Drink~" Larxene said slowly, as though speaking to a four year old, then collapsed into a fit of giggles. Marluxia gallantly helped her back up onto the stool where the barkeeper tried to pour her yet another pint of ale. Marluxia gently, but firmly, denied the offer. Neither the shady man or Larxene seemed pleased. Nor did the fellow drinker who suddenly found himself deprived of alcohol as Larxene resorted to stealing from those around her. As if she needed any more alcohol than was already fermenting her stomach, Marluxia thought a little bitterly.  
"You'll drink yourself to death if you're not careful," He said tentatively. Larxene just giggled, mumbling incomprehensibly.  
Marluxia almost envied her, lost in her own world of alcohol tinted - alcohol drowned - fuzzy, delirious happiness. But one of them, at least, had to stay sober, if only to actually get them home afterwards.  
Larxene had staggered to her feet and was flirting incredulously with some muscular man in the corner. Marluxia made sure to tug her back to her seat before she could do anything _really_ embarrassing or stupid. "Awh, Mar! Geddoff! I was about to score!"  
"Oh, really." Marluxia dead-panned, glancing briefly at the man Larxene had been trying to hit on.  
"Ya really!" Larxene exclaimed, looking in Marluxia's general direction, but not quite at him. "Snrk. Ma-really. Marly. Geddit?"  
"Hilarious."


	10. Mission 030: Under The Rain

**Mission 030 - Under the Rain - Pride Lands**

The rain was utterly, furiously relentless. It fell, unceasing, in huge heavy droplets that splashed violently on the ground, the trees, the leaves, them.  
For once Marluxia had proved to be useful, instantaneously growing some plant with huge, overhanging leaves that protected them from the worst of the downpour. Water cascaded over the waxy surface of the leaves like an umbrella, tumbling into a waterfall all around them.  
Larxene huddled close to her partner, shivering.  
"Why's it got to be so damn wet?!"  
Marluxia sighed, wrapping a large paw around Larxene's shivering lioness body.  
"You'd think that Xemnas would have had the foresight to check the weather forecast before he sends us on missions. As if the snowstorm last week were not bad enough,"  
"It's alright for him," Larxene huffed in agreement. "In his cosy, centrally heated office. And us goddamn furry lions in a goddamn monsoon,"  
"It could be worse," Marluxia stated philosophically.  
"How?!"  
"I don't know. I could be a flamingo or something equally ridiculous, for a start,"  
Larxene growled a little at the world in general.  
"Don't push your luck,"


	11. Mission 031: Flowers

**Mission 031 - Flowers - The Hive**

Having six legs and wings took a little getting used to, but it really was nothing compared to the shock of suddenly being a little over half an inch tall.  
We surveyed the suddenly gargantuan world from the bows of a small street. It didn't look promising.  
"This world has to be completely useless," I announced, displeased. "As if the Pride Lands last time weren't bad enough. Bees don't even _have_ hearts."  
"Perhaps Xemnas wants us to observe the humans here," Marluxia added thoughtfully, his voice distant as he gazed out across the gardens below us. It was nearing the end of spring, and all the flowers were in full bloom, a sprawling mosaic of bright, iridescent colours.  
"Whatever," I replied. "Let's just go and see if we can find some way of changing back into humans. We're useless as bees."  
Marluxia nodded, and slipped off the overhanging twig, little wings flapping furiously to lift his body weight.  
"I just want to have a look at the flowers first," He said as I caught up with him, making a literal beeline for the teeming flowerbed. Let him have his fun, I supposed, following at a safe distance in case he tried to do anything embarrassing. This was likely.  
Marluxia landed unsteadily on one gaudy pink and yellow flower, and crawled to the centre to peer at a pool of golden liquid inside.  
"I think," He murmured, "That I could definitely get used to _this_,"  
I landed on a nearby blue one and had to admit that the sickly sweet scent it reeked was pretty alluring, but obviously not to Marluxia's face.  
"Oh, come on, stop being so gay. It's just a giant flower,"  
Marluxia gestured for me to come closer and I reluctantly complied. He reached inside the centre of the flower, and pulled out two dripping handfuls of that sweet-smelling, golden liquid. "I've always wanted to try this," He said, voice dipping into delirious pleasure as he sipped the syrupy substance. "Here. You try some."  
"I think I'll pass," I said, unconvinced. Marluxia shook his head in resignation, licking the last of the nectar from his hands and buzzing off to another flower to gorge on its contents.  
I tried to follow him as though it were simply coincidence that we were going in the same direction and I really didn't know him. Honest. However, the other bees in the area didn't seem to even bat an eyelid at Marluxia's greedy behaviour as they also travelled erratically from plant to plant.  
"Look at you. You're covered in dust," I said disapprovingly, gesturing to the orange and yellow grains that speckled Marluxia's striped body.  
"Yes," He said as though I were stupid. "I'm pollinating the flowers. What does it look like I'm doing?"  
"I thought you were just sampling all the different typed of nectar, or something,"  
Marluxia chuckled, brushing a little excess pollen from his body onto the flower we were standing on.  
"A lot of people underestimate the importance of bees. But without them, almost all of the world's flowers would die,"  
"I'm sure I'd be heartbroken," I muttered sarcastically.  
"Two thirds of your food would, one way or another, become unavailable," Marluxia continued, unfazed.  
"Very nice," I said, unimpressed. "Now can we _please_ find some way to turn us back into humans?"  
"Of course, I just want to try this one last sample of nectar,"  
"Marluxia!!"


	12. Mission 036: Precious Treasure

**Mission 036 - Precious Treasure - Port Royal**

Marluxia slipped out of the portal, Larxene close behind, into a more-or-less deserted quay.  
"'S been a while, hasn't it," She said, letting her fingertips interlace with his. She was right - nearly a month had passed since they'd last been on a mission together. Needless to say that Marluxia was very glad to finally get away from being constantly paired with Vexen. But finally they'd convinced a highly suspicious Xemnas that yes, they would behave, and clearly they were the most suited to each other for missions (amongst other things, but they didn't mention that). He'd grudgingly complied to letting them go on this one mission - and if it wasn't completed satisfactorily, they'd be back with Axel and even worse, Vexen, before you could even say "Mission Accomplished". The objective was simple: collect munny without also collecting a fuss.  
"Now, there are two ways we can go about doing this; fight the Heartless and collect the treasure they've hoarded, or terrorise the locals. Which old Mansex really won't like." Marluxia said as they followed the churning water down to the busy harbour.  
Larxene frowned a little.  
"It pains me to say this, but I think we'd better play it safe."

Port Royal was filled with Heartless that gave out rich rewards when defeated, so they made quick headway with their task. Marluxia was just picking up the last of the dropped treasure when Larxene draped herself over his back.  
"I'm tired." She said. "Carry me."  
"What you are," He replied resignedly as he lifted her off her feet, "Is lazy."  
Larxene just wrapped her arms around Marluxia's neck and rested her head on his shoulder. "Aren't I heavy?"  
"Larx, you must be about half my weight. I can barely feel you."  
"I don't believe you."  
_What is it with women and weight?_ Marluxia thought sardonically as he carried Larxene back out into the street to return to the portal.  
"At least nobody batted an eyelid at us and now we've got the treasure." He said after a moment.  
"Yeah," Larxene agreed with a sigh. "Pity we can't keep it."  
"I don't mind. I have a more precious treasure than all that gold."  
"Your penis?"  
"I was talking about you, actually."  
"Oh."


	13. Mission 041: Teamwork

**Mission 041 - Teamwork - Battlefield**

He remembered running for his life. He remembered an explosion, and diving to the ground to escape the flames and shrapnel. He remembered laughing. He remembered her, blazing eyes and blazing guns and bullets flying everywhere and adrenaline pumping as he made a mad dash for the wall. He threw himself behind it, safe for a moment, just as another grenade went off. He remembered flashing a thumbs up to his partner. He remembered reloading his gun, stepping round and taking some anonymous guy in the wrong colour out before shielding himself once again.  
He remembered the wall being smashed to pieces and running for the next pile of rubble to hide from the spray of bullets and worse.  
He remembered her fall and he remembered dodging a mine to reach her, lift her into his arms and keep going.  
The helicopter was only a few hundred metres away and he felt the hot sting of a target hit but he kept running. Potions would fix the damage later. He remembered her twisting in his grasp, gun over his shoulder. She never would go down without a fight.  
He remembered one last, magnificent dive, clinging to the stabiliser, bullets all around and it was a miracle that they'd not been fatally wounded yet and he remembered the crackle of electricity and the snap of a door falling open, falling down, crashing in pieces the the floor. He remembered climbing in, removing his helmet. It was easy to overpower the driver.  
He remembered nearly crashing the hulking machine as he struggled to recall the controls. He remembered her at his side, typing. Decoding. Hacking.  
Finally, she spoke.  
"Got it."  
He remembered disappearing.  
He remembered a kiss.

Mission accomplished.


	14. Mission 056: Danger Ahead

**Mission 056 - Danger Ahead - Metroville**

"Fat guy poses threat to world insecurity. How hard can this be?"  
Marluxia looked around a the towering skyscrapers, the vast, stretching monorail, the innocent inhabitants going about their daily lives. It didn't look as though there was much world insecurity at all.  
"So where is this Mr Incredible?"  
"He's a family man. Wife and kids. Lives in a place on the outskirts of Metroville. There's a lady, too - an "Edna Mode". Xemnas seems to consider her a problem, too. A few miles north of here there's a vast complex where she can be found."  
"The name sounds familiar, " Marluxia said thoughtfully.  
"There's a picture here. She's hideous. Anyway, we don't actually have to deal with her, just this Mr Incredible guy."  
They made their way out of the city centre, through the sprawling suburbs, until they found the man they were looking for. He was bending over in the front garden, picking at weeds with ruthless inefficiency. As Larxene slipped out of sight, Marluxia smiled, and summoned his Graceful Dahlia, hidden behind the wall that he leant against, seemingly relaxed.  
"Excuse me, sir?"  
"Huh? Whaddya want?"  
He barely hesitated for a moment before swinging the scythe expertly, aimin right for the man's head. Something stopped him and he realised that the man had actually /caught the scythe.  
"They don't call me Mr Incredible for nothing," The man muttered with a frown. Marluxia hissed, banishing his scythe. It was with minute satisfaction that he watched the man lose his balance and stumble.  
"Just a test," He said pleasantly. "You never know who's a hero and who's not these days."  
The man mumbled something about scythes and being no way to greet a man, but straightened up and held out a podgy hand nonetheless.  
"So you're a superhero too?"  
Marluxia nodded with a smile.  
"Allow me."  
"He extended his other hand over the wall and called to the plans. The roses, previously so pathetic from indecent care, blossomed spectacularly. The weeds withered and died _poor things_. The man watched, his whole afternoon's worth of work completed in moments.  
"Useful for gardening," He finally admitted, but Marluxia could easily read from his tone of voice that he wasn't convinced, and possibly a little concerned for Marluxia's state of mind. Pink hair and flowers tended to do that to people.  
"Oh, you'd be surprised at that can be achieved with a creeping vine and a little imagination," He murmured, letting one slide from his sleeve and curl, lovingly, around his fingers. "And you. Strength you could never forget...?"  
It'd have been nice if Xemnas had actually cared to alight him to that.  
The man frowned a little.  
"You'd better come in for a cuppa."  
"Thank you. I don't suppose that you could extend your hospitality to my wife?"  
Right on cue, Larxene stepped seamlessly out from the shadows to wrap her hands around Marluxia's waist. ("Wife? I'll kill you in your sleep.")  
"Her name's Relane," Marluxia added, ignoring Larxene's snappish comment. Mr Incredible led them inside, oblivious.  
"And your name?"  
"Maria." Larxene quickly said before Marluxia had a chance. He glared at her.  
("Maria my ass. I was Lu! _Lu_!!"  
"Lu _Maria_."  
"You're pronouncing it wrong...")  
"Maria? That's... unusual..."  
"A little gender confusion at birth. Pay it no heed."  
Mr Incredible nodded with the vague aura of I-don't-understand-but-stop-talking-anyway. Marluxia knew those vibes well.  
"So what brings you here?"  
Larxene sighed dramatically.  
"Oh, you know how it _is_." She said with a wave of her hand. "Us superheroes have to stick together, right? We ran into some trouble so we thought we could find a place somewhere else."  
"We shan't stay long," Marluxia quickly continued, the perfect actor. "All we need is a little information - where we can go where we won't be stigmatised, things like that."  
"Keep yer head down and you'll be fine," Mr Incredible said as he gave them each a cup of tea and offered them digestive biscuits. "But you might want to ditch the matching black coats. People will think you're villains, and that's even worse."  
Larxene cast a furtive glance at Marluxia.  
"Ah." He said on cue. "I see where you stand. I'd have hoped that- oh, it doesn't matter."  
"Huh?"  
Larxene smiled a cruel smile.  
"Well, you see," She said, "We _are_ villains."


	15. Mission 059: No Way Out

**Mission 059 - No Way Out - Pride Lands**

"You moron! You absolute, fuckwit _moron_!"  
"Larxene, calm down! You're not helping!"  
"It's your fault we're in this predicament, anyway!"  
Marluxia hissed angrily, backing slightly further away from the wild grins of the circling hyenas.  
"Maybe if you hadn't attracted their attention..."  
"Maybe if you weren't a goddamn flamingo!"  
"You were the one who screwed up the transformation spell!"  
It was Larxene's turn to growl in frustration.  
"We can't take them down, can we?"  
"We haven't got a chance. There are dozens of them,"  
"It'd be a breeze if you'd turned into a lion like you were supposed to," Larxene muttered. She stepped backwards onto an old bone, and the ominous crack made Marluxia jump.  
The hyenas cackled, drawing ever closer. Steam rose from the cage like ribs of the carcasses in the Elephant's Graveyard.  
There was no way out.  
"Maybe if I distract them...." Marluxia whispered.  
"They'll have flamboyantly gay bird for dinner,"  
"Yes, yes, you can shut up about that now," Marluxia snapped irritably. "I can probably fit through that skull's jaws and get away. As soon as some of them try to follow me, you take out the others."  
Larxene nodded, preparing to battle with tooth and claw.  
She glanced one last time as the small, pink flamingo beside her, as if to say _"You'd better get out of here alive."_  
They ran, Larxene into the pack of hyenas, electricity crackling and jaws snapping, Marluxia into the tunnelling maze of bones before taking off into the sky.  
The herd... he had to find the buffalo herd. He needed to start the stampede, or else the King wouldn't die. The lion named Scar needed to be in power or else their plans would fail.  
This would be so much goddamn easier if he'd been a roaring, majestic lion and not a bloody flamingo.  
He spotted a yellow streak racing across the plain far below him and wheeled down to fly beside her.  
"They're grazing by the water hole. We need to drive them east so they run down the canyon. There needs to be no way out,"  
"Got that."  
They reached the herd and crept into position. Then, with a roar, Larxene attacked.  
They scattered, Larxene steering them this way and that, down into the canyon, steep sides trapping the stampeding beasts in.  
A lone lion waited in their path, and there was no way out.


	16. Mission 064: Multitasking

**Mission 064 - Multitasking - The World That Never Was**

_Somebody_ hadn't been cleaning the kitchen.  
Marluxia suspected that that somebody was Demyx. It didn't really matter. They were the ones who had to clear it up. Larxene suspected that that was because of, ahem, what they'd been caught doing during Mission 063.

The problem was that Marluxia, graceful, elegant and perfect in all other aspects of life, was a disaster in the kitchen. Even he had come to realise that he was an utter failure when it came to anything concerning food, unless he was eating it. Which was all very well, until Mission 064 was revealed to be to clean up the kitchens and for once cook the Organisation a decent meal.  
Marluxia, bless his fluffy pink cotton socks (well, most likely silk, satin or similar, the narcissistic bastard) was helping out with the piles and piles of washing up, working steadily through the gently moulding cups and plates, but that lest Larxene to do everything else.  
She emptied the fridge and the larder in search of in date, workable food. There wasn't much. She scoured the cupboards and shelves, but there wasn't really any clean crockery and cutlery, except what Marluxia could salvage from the washing up. Some of the dirt was so caked on that they had to throw half of it away.  
Still, they worked with what they had, and soon had something - edible or otherwise - cooking up on the stove.  
Marluxia, done with the washing up, tugged a box of Cheerios from the deep recesses of one shelf.  
"Could we use these?"  
Larxene glanced up from her previous activity of balancing three mismatched steamers full of broccoli on the stove without burning herself by jabbing them more or less randomly with her kunai.  
"For what?"  
"I don't know. Crumble then into the casserole, or something?"  
"What, _Cheerios_?"  
"It was just a thought." Marluxia replaced the cereal box and resumed being useless. "Are you sure you don't need any help?"  
"Not from a man who thinks it's a good idea to put Cheerios into casseroles,"  
"I never said it was a _good_ idea. Just a thought."  
"You shouldn't be thinking like that." Larxene muttered. "If I wasn't here to feed you, you'd probably end up poisoning yourself."  
Marluxia muttered something about managing and eating out and housewives and proceeded to sulk. Larxene - with remarkable flexibility - held up two of the steamers with her foot as she leaned over to the sink to drain the third, then pulled a bowl from a cupboard - still balancing all three steamers - and dumped the broccoli into it. She flung it into the oven and prodded the casserole a little before setting her foot down.  
"I cannot believe I have to do this all myself." She grumbled. "You ought to be a wonderful cook, if you're from Beast's Castle. That's in France which is world famous for its excellent cuisine. Didn't your parents ever teach you?"  
Marluxia sighed, flicking a loose Cheerio across the floor.  
"They tried."


	17. Mission 065: Horror

**Mission 065 - Horror - East High**

"Oh God. Oh, sweet God, no."  
Marluxia leaned over the rail, his face perfectly mirroring Larxene's words.  
"They're _singing_?!"  
"I'm getting out of here. Fuck this. No mission is worth watching high school students _dance_ on fucking _canteen tables_,"  
Marluxia nodded morosely, tugging his smart jacket off to replace it with his trusty Organisation coat. He left the jacket lying listlessly in the corridor, confused students in his wake.  
"Well, we got to sixty-five,"  
"That's good enough for me," Larxene said, jogging after Marluxia. "Although, I think our job was already done before we arrived. I mean, dancing on tables? That's gotta be chaos,"  
"Perfectly choreographed, though,"  
Larxene shoved Marluxia amiably into the lockers.  
"You are _so_ gay."


	18. Mission 076: Broken Pieces

**Mission 076 - Broken Pieces - Scrap Yard**

The area had seemed to be rife with stray cats and dogs; they fed the Heartless and created hideous, howling creatures of the darkness that weren't difficult to destroy, simply tediously boring.  
They teemed enough that eventually the two nobodies simply amused themselves by taking pot shots as a break from simply mercilessly slaughtering them. Who could kill their chosen target in the most spectacular way? The quickest? The weirdest?  
Larxene had to admit that Marluxia's technique of _pretending_ that each stray Heartless was his own runaway dog yielded pretty hilarious results. It was with spectacular sincerity that he would heard an unfortunate Heartless into the light of a busy street, calling after it with the _most_ hilariously inappropriate of names - from "Cuddles" to "Fluffy" to "Mansex" (That one had horrified the little old ladies of this town to a wonderful degree). And then - just as he was right in front of an innocent bystander - he'd use his scythe to kill it spectacularly, apologise profusely and explain how it wasn't his dog, after all, then run off, calling again.  
They alternated between amusing themselves and seriously destroying the Heartless, from the towering city centre to the Zoo to, finally, the scrap yard. There weren't many there, preferring instead to crawl in shadows where there was a good supply of hearts to feed their endless addictions.  
The sun was setting as Larxene skewered the final irritating Heartless in the scrap yard. Marluxia was taking a break at the time, perching on the broken pieces of an old motorcycle.  
Larxene joined him, sitting heavily "Phew," She said, wiping sweat off her forehead with one grubby sleeve. They'd both need a good wash tonight - this place was filthy. "That was tedious, to say the least,"  
"You can say that again," Marluxia agreed, tugging her close for a little extra warmth. The night wasn't _cold_, but there was a certain chill to the air that was almost enough to make him shiver. Petite little Larxene wouldn't stand a chance.  
They shared a little moment together, as drizzle drew in from the west and drenched their coats to saturation point.  
"Why don't we go back?" Larxene asked. "A nice warm bath, bed..."  
"We have to wait a little longer, in case any other heartless appear,"  
Larxene huffed, tugging a little at Marluxia's damp hair.  
"Oh, come on. This place is a wasteland. Xemnas' precious hearts are safe and I don't want to be left out here in the rain just in case another bloody Snufflekins happens to wander past,"  
"You know, Axel has a pet terrapin called Snufflekins," Marluxia absently commented. "He calls it Speedy, though, when other people are around."  
Larxene sighed disbelievingly.  
"This isn't another one of those "Xemnas paints his fingernails" rumours made up by Demyx, is it?"  
"Probably."  
They waited a while longer, with increasing impatience.  
"Come _on_," Larxene whined finally. "Let's just go,"  
She hopped off Marluxia's lap and pulled him up. The movement caused an avalanche of little bits and pieces to cascade down from the pile.  
A nut rolled in front of them, and rattled a little before lying still.  
Larxene shuddered from the cold and Marluxia wrapped his arms around her waist, more to show that he cared than for any practical reasons.  
The nut jerked again, as though from some tremor in the ground. They felt the subtle shift in the balance of light, and darkness, moments before the vibrations in the earth threaded up into their feet.  
The first foot stomped down, then the second, sending the piles of junk into shuddering disarray, hard enough for Larxene to almost lose balance.  
Marluxia had already summoned his Scythe, calling out to the plants around him. They crept stealthily in amongst the broken pieces, the thorns, the weeds, the brambles and the vines, crawling, advancing, ready to strike unexpected.  
The Heartless towered over them both, bolted together like some monstrous mechanical Frankenstein. It had been crafted from twisted, unwanted old metal, more brown from rust than the shiny silver one would expect. Glowing yellow eyes burned in the night.  
A smile tugged at Marluxia's lips.  
"There you are," He said, "Snufflekins,"


	19. Mission 083: Heal

**Mission 083 - Heal - Deep Jungle**

Someone was there, and he could feel it. The twisting maze of trees, vines and undergrowth were carefully being moved as somebody picked their way through the Deep Jungle.  
He sensed their disturbance, with a mile and a half still left to go. Not a gorilla; they used the passageways of the trees to traverse the forest. A hunter? Perhaps.  
He pressed on, gaining speed and height as he climbed into the treetops, pink and black flashing in and out of sight through the foliage.  
The disturbances followed, twenty feet below.  
The first shot rang out clear, and missed.  
He paused in his progress and listened. Footsteps beat like a heart in the crushed undergrowth as the hunter approached.  
Another bullet whipped past him, barely missing its target.  
He ran.  
Progress would be quicker on the ground where he wouldn't have to take risky jumps from branch to branch, but the added proximity to the hunter would make him an easier target. So he called out to the forest around him, offered them his power in return for favours on his behalf.  
He pressed on through the trees, twisting the foliage behind him to hinder the hunter's progress. He didn't want to fight a man with a gun. Knives, swords, arrows, they were fine, that was a battle fought fair and square. But a man with a gun could kill him with one shot.  
The hunter cursed, following him at at a surprising pace. He was stumbling through the writing vines and tangled roots, but stumbling at speed, none the less.  
"Come back, you brute!"  
Not likely, Marluxia thought. Even if I were a gorilla, which I'm not, I wouldn't come to your heel when ordered to die.  
Another shot, and it ripped into his leg. He bit his lip, and kept running.  
Fighting Heartless for the best part of the morning, he had no potions left to heal the damage, and an already low health gauge. He could _feel_ the bullet in his thigh, sending shooting pains up his leg.  
He kept running.  
He couldn't have been more than half a mile from the rendezvous point, but his progress through the jungle was slowing.  
Another shot hit just inches from the first, and he faltered. Blood stung his leg, and splashed onto the ground. The jungle cried out with a roar only he could hear. It tugged insanely at his ties to the plants, sapping his power as they fought to protect him.  
The hunter crumpled to the sheer might of nature. That would teach him to mess with a flower-mage in a jungle thick with flora.  
Larxene would have potions, if he could reach her in time. The window for their rendezvous was short, to keep things in this world discreet. Arrive too late and she'd have left already, alone. He didn't think he had enough energy left to summon a portal and leave the world any more. His only chance was her.  
He ripped a length of fabric from his shirt to bandage the wound for now. Here; this plant's leaves would help to dull the pain a little.  
He pressed on, struggling to match his previous pace. He gained height once again to avoid the rocky, uneven terrain of the forest floor. The plants around him did their best to make his journey smooth, but to move they needed his inner elemental power, already insanely depleted. Slowly, eventually, _finally_, the old tree house became visible in the distance, then closer. He limped across one final branch, and into Larxene's waiting arms.  
"You idiot," He heard her mutter, but he was too tired to care. He felt the sterile, clinical taste of a potion slip down his throat, and the muscle and skin slowly heal as his strength returned.  
He felt her brush his fringe aside, and place a gentle kiss on his forehead.  
Then he passed out.


	20. Mission 091: Drowning

**Mission 091 - Drowning - Atlantica**

"Aah!!"  
"Larxene, calm down!"  
"I'm _naked_!"  
"That's never troubled you before."  
"Yes, but everybody can _see_!"  
"There's nobody around."  
"But if there was! I feel exposed..."  
"You look gorgeous."  
"I don't like this place."  
"Does the fact that I, too, am naked not console you in the slightest?"  
There was a pause.  
"... I'm cold."  
"Of course you are, sweetie," Marluxia replied, wrapping one frilled arm around Larxene's shoulder as he led her towards the destination, out of the open sea. When they'd started out as a couple he'd gone through a phase of calling Larxene "sweetheart" but he'd stopped after she kept tagging "-less" on the end. She called him babe, and sometimes faggot.  
"I feel like I'm drowning," she commented after a while, slipping out of Marluxia's hold to swim underneath him, facing upwards. Beneath his outstretched arms her body shimmered pink with the light filtering through his sweeping, translucent fins.  
"It does take a while to get used to swimming," Marluxia agreed.  
"You're okay. You're doing it like you've been here before." "I have. Remember when I had to go on that two-week mission with Vexen?"  
"That was here? Oh, you poor thing..."  
"Well, he was wearing a tank top for most of the time. Skin tight. It wasn't nice."  
"Still, better than nothing at all... right?"  
Marluxia frowned a little, drawing to a stop outside the underwater city outskirts.  
"You know, he has a tattoo. All over his back."  
"You're kidding me! What of, the periodic table?!"  
"Part of it, yes. The main part was an icicle, a tree and a lamppost, but there were animals and skulls and angels, too."  
"Weird. I'll ever see Vexen the same way again."  
"He told me he had it done back when he was Even. Said it represented who he was."  
"What, a frigid nerd and a street lighting appliance?"  
"Quite."  
They dived deeper to wheel under a stony arch, fingertips just grazing fronds of vivid green seaweed. Shoals of fish swam gently past their tails - or semi-transparent tentacles in Larxene's case, a whole spectrum of brilliant colours that shimmered in the softly filtering sunlight. Neither of them were in any hurry to seek out the Heartless and begin heart collection. It wasn't often that, with Project CO looming, they had a chance to be on missions together - and alone - since Xemnas of late seemed to be constantly calling Marluxia away to lead smaller groups on more complex missions.  
Larxene thought that the sudden influx in power and responsibility had gone to Marluxia's head, but who was she to judge? They'd both had to tighten up their act after making the formal decision to use the Keyblade Bearer for their own means at Castle Oblivion, so perhaps he wasn't changing as much as she feared. Besides, he was still the same old slightly whimsical, flower-reeking man as always when they were alone.  
"What happens if one of them tries to oppose us?" She mused aloud.  
"To disobey me is to betray the Organisation itself," Marluxia smoothly recited. "We can keep them in check."  
"Vexen will try something, I'm sure."  
"Nobody will miss him."

Larxene had long since been accustomed to the moral-less way of life of the Nobodies, but something in Marluxia's throwaway tone chilled her to the bone. They were overthrowing Xemnas to help the Organisation, not rip it apart. Right...?


End file.
